Intel NUC 4" x 4" micro-PC - $299 shipped (1.8ghz i3, motherboard, case, PSU)

[emenk]

ATM (until midnight PT), NewEgg's Shell Shocker is "Intel NUC Kit DC3217IYR FCBGA1168 Intel QS77 2 x 204Pin Intel HD Graphics 4000 Integrated by CPU" for $240. It's redish with a gold dragon.

 

[finbarqs]

I think I'm gonna go with the Intel, the CPU is of higher spec than the brix, and it's cheaper (374 vs. 386) and it's just gonna be a plex server anyways. I have faith in it's 1080p 5.1 decoding ability.

This system will never see the light of day of actual usage, so the GPU is not of great importance to me...

 

[imaheadcase]

I think I'm gonna go with the Intel, the CPU is of higher spec than the brix, and it's cheaper (374 vs. 386) and it's just gonna be a plex server anyways. I have faith in it's 1080p 5.1 decoding ability.

This system will never see the light of day of actual usage, so the GPU is not of great importance to me...

Will the GPU video decoding work on the I3 like the 5000 does?

 

[Pheran]

Linux on the NUC: Using Ubuntu, Mint, Fedora, and the SteamOS beta

 

[you2]

An interesting take on the nuc starting at $180 (Celeron 2955U) for complete system (16gb ssd, 2gb for the celeron/4gb with i3). The 2995u is an interesting compromise between the atom (around 900 passmark) and mobile i3 (around 2700) at 1600. I'm not sure which graphic core the 2955u have or how much the i3 version of this box will cost (hopefully less than $280). Anyway this might be an interesting box for some (they are fanless).
-
link:
http://www.engadget.com/2014/02/04/asus-chromebox/

(another site provide more technical info but still not fine details like if the bootloader requires a signed kernel).

 

[Kaido]

An interesting take on the nuc starting at $180 (Celeron 2955U) for complete system (16gb ssd, 2gb for the celeron/4gb with i3). The 2995u is an interesting compromise between the atom (around 900 passmark) and mobile i3 (around 2700) at 1600. I'm not sure which graphic core the 2955u have or how much the i3 version of this box will cost (hopefully less than $280). Anyway this might be an interesting box for some (they are fanless).
-
link:
http://www.engadget.com/2014/02/04/asus-chromebox/

(another site provide more technical info but still not fine details like if the bootloader requires a signed kernel).

Dang, that plus the 39" 4K Seiki TV would be the bomb for a kitchen computer!

 

[Aikouka]

As I mentioned in the Anandtech article for this release, I have serious doubts that the photographed device is fanless. First of all, there are fan vents on the back (they look just like the ones on the NUC), and second of all, the case appears to be made of a modest amount of plastic and possibly thin metal. Most fanless cases tend to have heatsinks built into them, which are not comprised of such thin metals.

EDIT:

Anand responded saying that he confirmed with ASUS that the Celeron and i3 models are fanless. I had mentioned in my original comment that the photos (provided by ASUS?) might be of the i7 model, which has not been confirmed as being fanless. So, that might explain why it doesn't look like a fanless device.

Although... their new EeeBox doesn't look fanless either, and it supposedly is...

http://www.asus.com/Eee_Box_PCs/EB1037/

 

[ezclick]

thanksss!

 

[DaveSimmons]

It might make sense to use the same case for fan and fanless models to cut costs. Also the holes might help with airflow even without a fan.

This could be a better mom / grandma 'puter than the notebooks since it can be attached a 20"+ monitor for easier reading, along with a full-size keyboard and mouse.

 

[PowerEngineer]

This thread is great and I hope it continues to follow the evolution of the hardware, but it seems somewhat out of place in the "Hot Deals" forum. Should it be moved to A/V & Home where more people might benefit from it? Just a thought...

 

[imaheadcase]

This thread is great and I hope it continues to follow the evolution of the hardware, but it seems somewhat out of place in the "Hot Deals" forum. Should it be moved to A/V & Home where more people might benefit from it? Just a thought...

You mean SFF, Notebooks, Pre-Built/Barebones PCs.

 

[Vincent]

The i3-3217UDC3217BY NUC is only $161 from Amazon now:

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Next-Com.../dp/B0093LINT2

 

[imaheadcase]

The i3-3217UDC3217BY NUC is only $161 from Amazon now:

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Next-Com.../dp/B0093LINT2

Better off waiting till end of month for newer ones.

 

[jaydee]

Better off waiting till end of month for newer ones.

Ya, at probably about $100 more (60%)...

 

[imaheadcase]

Ya, at probably about $100 more (60%)...

Not a huge deal. Especially since its cheaper to by normal SSD with more capacity in the long run. And better specs, so takes the guess work out of the common question "Will it run this..".

 

[ravana]

The new NUC (i5-4250U with 2.5" drive bay) that's coming out on the 24th just dropped by $50 to $399 on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-DisplayP...SIN=B00HZDLNWO

 

[Kaido]

The new NUC (i5-4250U with 2.5" drive bay) that's coming out on the 24th just dropped by $50 to $399 on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-DisplayP...SIN=B00HZDLNWO

Nice!

"Compatible with Linux (Linux Mint, Fedora, Ubuntu, OpenSUSE) and Windows 7"

 

[imaheadcase]

Nice!

"Compatible with Linux (Linux Mint, Fedora, Ubuntu, OpenSUSE) and Windows 7"

I never bought laptop memory before. Just any Crucial 1.35v 8gig laptop memory work ok for these?

 

[ravana]

I never bought laptop memory before. Just any Crucial 1.35v 8gig laptop memory work ok for these?

If you are buying from amazon be careful of the one 8 GB kit. Amazon has a note on it that they are currently investigating issues.

 

[Aikouka]

I never bought laptop memory before. Just any Crucial 1.35v 8gig laptop memory work ok for these?

It should be fine as long as it's 1.35V DDR3 SO-DIMM. The only part you have to be careful of is the 1.35V as not all DDR3 SO-DIMMs are low voltage parts like that.

 

[Kaido]

Looks like some more NUC-based goodies:

HP Chromebox

Google Chromebox for Meetings

 

[Kaido]

I never bought laptop memory before. Just any Crucial 1.35v 8gig laptop memory work ok for these?

Yeah the big thing is 1.35v memory for the Haswell-based NUC's. I usually buy the "Apple" kind because it is sometimes available for a good price.

I've been having excellent luck with the i5 Haswell Gigabye BRIX. Quiet, fast, lots of ports, etc. Most of my users store their stuff on a file server, so I just keep a local 240GB mSATA for OS, apps, basic local storage, the paging file (big with 16GB RAM! haha), etc. Works out pretty well :thumbsup:

 

[Kaido]

Ars has a review of the i7 BRIX Pro:

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014...ore-mini-desktop-gigabytes-brix-pro-reviewed/

Looks like 84w max - not bad for a little box with a desktop chip! Here's the CPU:

http://ark.intel.com/products/76642/Intel-Core-i7-4770R-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_90-GHz

Samsung's 1TB mSATA is currently $654:

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-MZ-MTE.../dp/B00HWHVNUU

The regular 1TB SSD is $569: (you can pair both in a BRIX Pro if you need speed)

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Electr...dp/B00E3W16OU/

 

[Kaido]

Yup, the Asus Chromebook will be fanless:

http://www.omgchrome.com/asus-chromebox-specs-details/

 

[Pheran]

New Intel NUC BIOS update fixes SteamOS, other Linux booting problems

Some other fixes are included as well.